In Celtic Ireland in the fifth century BC, summer officially ended on 31 October. On the evening in question, so the story goes, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died in the previous year would come back in search of the afterlife. And the living would put out their fires and dress up in ghoulish costumes to frighten away evil spirits.
Today, marking Halloween has become increasingly popular with older children and it is a fantastic time of the year in terms of the sheer amount of activities and fun you can have in your out-of-school setting.
This year it falls on a Thursday and with the nights drawing in you can really set the atmosphere!
However, do consider the age range of children that you have in your club as some of the following activities may not be suitable for everyone - younger children may be frightened. Some parents may also object to their children celebrating Halloween and you may feel that you would like to check whether this is so in your club before going ahead.
SPOOKY GAMES TO PLAY
MUMMY WRAP
You will need:
* Lots of toilet paper - purchase it in bulk from a cheap store.
The object of the game is that the first team to wrap their mummy wins! Prizes could also be given for the most unusual mummy. Divide the children into small groups of equal numbers - four children per group works well - and give each group three rolls of toilet paper. One child will be the mummy and the other three will wrap.
A CHILLING TALE
You will need:
* Pack of index cards
* Pen
* Clock, watch or minute timer.
Write a scary phrase on each card, for example, 'It was a dark and stormy night', 'The coffin creaked', 'As the light went on, the rats scattered', or 'Sounds could be heard coming from the witches' boiling cauldron'!
Turn down the lights and light a candle to set the mood, or give each person a torch to hold under their face as they speak. Pick someone to start. The chosen child should take an index card and begin to spin a tale for one minute (you could use a timer or time them on a clock or watch if you feel a ringer might spoil the atmosphere).
When the minute is up, the player should hand the cards to the next child, who picks one and turns the story in another direction, using the new phrase on the card. Each child needs to repeat the last line of the previous speaker so the story keeps going. The game ends when the last person has taken their turn or when everyone has had enough!
MONSTER TAG
Monster Tag is something like the game of Tag, but with a twist.
You will need:
* An ugly monster mask
* Monster hands
* A blindfold
Use some masking tape or rope to mark off an area as a circle. This will be the playing ground for your monster. Decide who is to be the monster and get him or her to put on the monster mask and hands. Place the blindfold over their eyes so they can't see.
All players have to stay within the circle while the monster wanders around reaching out to catch the players. When the monster moans or growls, all the players must moan or growl back and extend their arms. This is how the monster finds his victims. When a player gets tagged, they become the next monster.
SLIMY and GHOSTLY FOOD
CARAMEL APPLES
Ingredients
* 5 eating apples
* 5 wooden sticks
* 40 caramel cubes
* 1 tablespoon of water
* 1 sheet of wax paper
Preparation
Wash and dry the apples thoroughly. Remove the stalks and insert the sticks into the stalk's hole until about half the stick is in the apple.
In a small saucepan, over a low heat, melt the caramel with the water, stirring constantly until smooth. Now dip the apples into the hot caramel sauce, coating the apple completely. Place on greased, wax paper.
Store the caramel apples in a fridge. Before serving, remove the apples from the fridge and allow them to stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
BLOODY POPCORN
Ingredients
* 14 cups of popped popcorn
* 2 cups of brown sugar
* 1 cup butter
* 1/2 cup of light corn syrup
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* Red food colouring (paste food colouring from craft stores works well) Preparation
Once you have popped the popcorn, remove any unpopped kernels. Place the popcorn in a buttered metal bowl and place in an oven at 200xC/Gas mark 6 to keep warm.
Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Add a little red food colouring to the mixture you are melting.
Once the mixture begins to boil, stop stirring for five minutes, or until mixture reaches 255xC on the jam-making thermometer.
Remove from the heat and add the baking soda. The mixture will start to foam, so stir well until blended. Pour the hot mixture over the popcorn and toss gently with a well-buttered fork to distribute evenly.
Spread on to two ungreased baking sheets and bake at 200xC/Gas mark 6 for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove the caramel corn from the oven and allow to cool completely. Once cool, break into clusters and store in a tightly covered container.
MARSHMALLOW GHOSTS
Ingredients
* Marshmallows
* 10cm lollipop sticks
* Melting chocolate (white, plain or milk)
* Black decorating gel
Preparation
Insert sticks into the marshmallows and place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes, until they are cold. While the marshmallows are chilling, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.
Remove the marshmallows from the freezer and dip them in the melted chocolate for a thin coating.
To get a 'mummy look', swirl them a bit in white chocolate to look like layers of white wrapped around the marshmallow. Ghosts or witches in the appropriate coloured chocolate should be dunked to make a little twisted peak top. Support the sticks until they cool then place them in the fridge.
The dipped marshmallows won't take long to harden up.
Add faces after they harden using the black decorating gel.
WITCH CRAFTS TO MAKE
CARVED PUMPKINS
The Irish used turnips for their hollowed out lanterns, but when Irish immigrants arrived in the US they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips so they used those.
You will need:
* Sharp knife - one large and one much smaller for detailed work
* Chopping board
* Strong metal spoons
* Black marker pen
* Large bowl - somewhere to put the scooped out flesh to put into pies and soups!
* Candle
Process:
Wash and dry your pumpkin. Using a large knife and chopping board, slice off the top of the pumpkin in one go - this will make a lid - so that you have enough space to scoop out the flesh. Scoop out the flesh and place it into a bowl. The scooping out may take some time if you have a large pumpkin; two or three people may need to have a go to finish the job. Leave a wall the thickness of approximately 3cm in the pumpkin.
Now design your spooky face, perhaps on paper first. Try to keep the design fairly simple as this will make it easier when you come to cutting it (although older children may like the challenge of more complex designs).
Then when you are happy, use the black marker pen and draw your design on the pumpkin. Try to leave a good 5cm gap between the bottom and top of the pumpkin. Using the small sharp knife, carve out your design.
Place a candle in the middle of the pumpkin and replace the top. Place the pumpkin in a prominent window so that passers-by can see it!
POP-UP HAUNTED HOUSE
The children can design their own simple spooky scene to scare their friends.
You will need
* Scissors
* Thin card - white, black or a colour - depending on your design
* Craft knife
* Silver, white and black pens
* Glue
* Glitter
To Make:
Take two pieces of card and cut them to the same size - the size of a piece of A4 sheet of paper is good, about 21cm x 30cm. Fold them in half and put one aside. With the other piece, cut four 3cm long lines along the folded edge. Make the first cut about 4cm in, the second a further 4cm in and then leave a gap of about 5cm and make two further cuts 4cm apart.
This will make two strips that make the pop-up parts of the house. Bend the strips back and make a crease and then forward again (see illustration above).
Open up the card and hold it like a tent. Then press through your two slits. When you open up the card like a scene again, the two strips should pop-up ready to fix your Halloween characters to.
To strengthen your design, glue the other piece of folded card to the back.
Draw a ghost, skeleton or witch on to some small bits of white or black card and add some details using the pens and glitter, then stick them on to the pop-up strips.
Think of some other scary or ghoulish items that you could use in your scene -perhaps a bat or spider in the foreground, or a trap door that can be lifted.
